


Cyclical

by starrelia



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Male Character, Canon Divergence, Cisgender, Emotional Baggage, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, implied polyamory, implied sexual relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 11:37:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7266610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrelia/pseuds/starrelia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only interest Rhys has in Jack is sexual– he’s going to get together with that vault hunter he keeps talking about, and Rhys is never going to see the programmer again after that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cyclical

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr, I've now reposted it on AO3. I don't remember if I ever posted it here before or not.

It’s just sexual interest, Rhys tells himself as he finds himself gravitating back to Jack without fail. All it is, in the end, is nothing but mutual lust. The programmer with a grin wider than it should be is nothing more than a fling, someone that Rhys doesn’t care much about, and Jack doesn’t care much about him either.

After all, isn’t he more interested in the woman he hired? It makes _sense;_ Rhys isn’t his type. Far from it, actually. It baffles him, every day, how Jack still grabs him and kisses him hard, like he wants to bite into his lips and tear it off, even though he tells him repeatedly that he wants someone else. Not in bed, though, Jack has manners enough to know better than to do that; he tells it to him in how he talks of Nisha, how she’s _a badass_ and can _kill them both without even blinking._

Honestly, Jack’s taste in lovers makes Rhys want to slap him and never come to him again. He wants people who can _kill him,_ can _tear people apart and not be bothered by the blood they step on,_ and Rhys is far from that.

But the sex is fantastic, and he can’t bring himself to leave Jack even if he really, really wants to. It’s just sexual interest, and Jack makes it clear every time he shoves Rhys face down to fuck him, or blindfolds him whenever he’s riding Rhys.

It’s clear what their relationship is, so he leaves it at that and continues on as normal. Some days he limps around a little and Vaughn looks perturbed by that, and Yvette just rolls her eyes, but he supposes it’s what he gets for sleeping around with a man who loves rough sex far too much.

Jack’s consistent, and ever so oddly persistent, but Rhys doesn’t think much about it.

Sex is sex, and once Jack is with Nisha he’s sure that he’ll be dropped like he’s on fire. He doesn’t mind; that’s how these things work in the end.

* * *

Jack likes to run his hand over Rhys’s back. He traces the curve of his back, hand disappearing under the blanket and then coming back to trace over his spine again. It’s always Jack’s place that they meet up at, Rhys notes absently as he stares at the bleak, clean walls while the other traces the shape of his spine with thick fingers.

“Issa shame, pumpkin,” Jack murmurs to himself, and then Rhys can’t hear him anymore as the man starts to grumble and gripe. His words are too mumbled, and he decides that whatever the programmer has to say is probably pointless and more whining about Tassiter.

Not that he blames him for complaining about Tassiter it’s just that Rhys rather not hear it at all, if he has it his way. But when it comes to Jack’s mouth and his problems, it’s never Rhys’s way.

Rather, it’s always Jack’s way. “You have a _really_ pretty back, Rhysie. Soft too; you indulge in skin care or what?”

“I do,” Rhys grumbles out into the pillow, trying to suffocate himself in it and pass out, “unlike _someone_ I know who has skin as rough as sandpaper.”

Jack snorts and pulls the blanket down to smack his ass, and Rhys groans in annoyance. “Again?” he asks, and Jack is lying flat over him, large hands pressing at his shoulders and keeping Rhys pressed down. “Again,” Jack echoes, something desperate in his voice, and Rhys rolls his eyes. He closes his eyes and tries to drift off to sleep as Jack has his way, though it’s unsurprisingly difficult as a result.

He muffles himself in the pillow, and Jack complains about that but does nothing about it.

* * *

To his utter fortune, Rhys never gets to run into Jack while they are both actually supposed to be working. Rhys is on a different floor entirely, and Jack is always on an errand here and there as well because of how much Tassiter seems to  _hate him._

There’s something else going on, too; rumours that Hyperion is going to get some sort of spaceship, something that Rhys thinks is ridiculous because no one in the company has the ambition to go to space, and he dismisses them all the time. Vaughn just rolls his eyes at all the rumours, and turns to Rhys with a big smile and stories to tell.

Yvette wants to go out there, into space, and Rhys just wants to be able to work and get them all the money and respect they deserve.  “You worry about that all the time,” Yvette points out as she’s stealing food from Vaughn’s tray, and Rhys is snickering as he yelps and tries to wrestle it back from her. “Chill, Rhys, we’ll all get there.”

“I mean—bro, she’s right— _Yveeeeeette give me my food back!—_ you’ve been worrying yourself _sick_ over this.” He’s still swiping at Yvette, and she’s holding him off with a good amount of straining. Rhys just shakes his head and takes a sip of his water. “Come ooooooon! Yyyyyvette!”

“Nuh uh, I stole this chicken fair and square.” She teases, and Vaughn glares at her. While they’re both busy, Rhys leans in and snatches the bit of chicken and plops into his mouth. Both of them look at him with a mixture of anger and horror, and Rhys snickers.

Chewing and swallowing the chicken, he smirks at them both. “Never let your guard down, bros, never.” They both groan at him, and the discussion of work and space is momentarily forgotten, until next time.

* * *

“Whaddayathink of the name Helios, huh?” Jack asks him as he drags Rhys away, and he’s staring at him blankly. “I’m thinkin’ it’s  _pretty friggin’ great._ You know—related to Hyperion and all that jazz.”

“I think,” Rhys begins, agitation seeping through even when he doesn’t want it to, “that you should just kiss me and fuck me—“

“Language!”

“Shut _up_ Jack, oh my _god._ Anyway, as I was _saying._ Just kiss me and fuck me—I have to go in half an hour, I have a meeting and three projects to do, so unless you wanna fuck? _Shut up, let me go, or I’m punching you with the prosthetic.”_

Jack’s laughing at him after that. Hands settling on Rhys’s hips as he presses him against the wall. He cages Rhys in, and he looks at Jack evenly in response. Something glimmers in heterochromatic eyes, and he doesn’t think much about it as he’s kissed, hard.

There’s something to prove in that kiss, and Rhys doesn’t know what it is. All he knows is that he slaps Jack when he tries to shove his pants down in public, tries to get him to do a quickie against the wall, and he drags him into the nearest supply closet to have sex in instead.

He doesn’t have the patience or desire to have his reputation ruined because Jack’s overeager and still hasn’t had the vault hunters he, supposedly, hired arrive yet.

* * *

“They’re  _actually_ working on it-“ Vaughn says the next time Rhys sees him, and he arches his eyebrow curiously. “Dude, bro, oh man, oh man! They’re actually working on it; Yvette is gonna be  _so stoked!”_ he throws his arms up dramatically, and Rhys just looks at him blankly.

He grabs at Vaughn’s arms and forces them down onto his sides, moves his hands up to his shoulders, and looks at him evenly. “What the hell are you talking about?” he bluntly asks, and Vaughn rolls his eyes and daintily removes his hands.

“You know those rumours floating around that Hyperion may be getting a spaceship or whatever?”

“… Yeah?”

“They’re _actually_ working on it, bro! Like, they are genuinely going to make a giant H in the sky, right in front of friggin’ Elpis! _Friggin’ Elpis man!”_

His eyes widen at that, and he doesn’t have anything to say. How is someone like him going to even respond to that? It’s… it’s actually happening. Who—“Are they gonna name it?” he asks, moving on a guess, and Vaughn grins widely up at him and nods. “What’s it gonna be?”

“Helios, apparently? Has something to do with Hyperion’s name, I don’t know anything about it. But just… imagine! Imagine man! We’re the only company who’s gonna be working in _space! **Space!** We’re going to be looking down on everyone!”_

 _‘Yeah,’_ Rhys thinks, repressing a frown, _‘we are.’_

* * *

Jack stares at his throat a lot. Rhys has made sure to repeatedly tell him not to bite or leave hickeys, marks,  _anything_ that’ll give their relationship away. Rumours spread like wildfire in Hyperion, and anyone can be crushed with moments under the mountainous amount of them.

The only rumours Rhys needs about him are rumours on how he is being _pretty damn amazing,_ thank you very much, and nothing more.

Still- he rubs at his neck, self-conscious, and he considers getting a tattoo at some point to get rid of the feeling of Jack’s gaze on them. He has an _intense_ look to him, not helped with the way his face is shaped or the way he always seems to want to _say_ something to Rhys. He doesn’t know what he could even want to say, what there is to say, but it always looks like there is something harsh on his tongue.

Rhys doesn’t ever let him say it, because he doesn’t want to know what it is, and he distracts Jack by falling on his knees, in between his legs, and leaning close to kiss at his crotch.

It’s easy to distract him that way.

* * *

“Do you ever complain about anything but Tassiter?” Rhys asks as he’s burying his face in Jack’s pillow again, and there’s stunned silence from the other. He rolls his eyes and sighs, scratches on his back and legs, bruises forming on his hips again, and Rhys wants to tell Jack to  _stop_ doing that.

But he has. Numerous times. Jack does it anyway, and Rhys tells him again and again. He hates the bruises, the scratches and the biting, but at least Jack never does it somewhere visible. “You really need to just—I don’t know, find an outlet for all the anger you have for Tassiter. Doesn’t seem healthy.”

Jack snorts at that and he’s falling next to Rhys, turned on his side so that he isn’t looking at him and he shrugs at that. “Yeah, well, _you_ try havin’ a slimeball like him hounding you twenty four-seven..”

“I have Vasquez on my ass, if that helps?”

“He ain’t the CEO, sweetheart, but yeah, yeah sure, let’s say he counts.” Jack’s voice is a hiss then, and Rhys wonders if he’s missing something. He replays the conversation in his head, furrows his brow when nothing seems off, and he shrugs again and buries his face into Jack’s pillow. “You gonna get all whiny whenever I talk about Tassiter, cupcake?”

“No,” Rhys admits sincerely, “but when someone mentions the same thing to you, over and over, you gotta mention it at some point.

“Aww, worried for me?”

“Never, Jack.”

* * *

He can see the construction of Helios from here, now. He doesn’t bring it up with Jack that he’s… impressed by it, because well—how many people can say they managed to convince the CEO to let them oversee the construction of a spaceship?

Rhys can count on one hand, and the only person there is Jack. He doesn’t mention it to Jack, ever, because then Jack is going to be insufferable—even more so than already, and really, he can mention it to Yvette and Vaughn instead.

Especially when Yvette’s eyes twinkle at the sight of the construction, face glowing whenever she notices the construction moving along, and Rhys wants to kiss her whenever she gloats about how they’re finally going to go to space.

Then there’s Vaughn’s excitement over being part of a company that can do something this big and show off. He wants to advertise to everyone how _he’s_ part of the company in the sky, how he’s going to be part of the stars.

He wants to kiss them both. So one day, when they’re in his flat and they’re all talking about Helios, about how cool it’s gonna be up there, Rhys kisses Yvette first and then Vaughn.

They don’t do anything else after the initial kiss that surprises them both, but they’re giving him big grins that let him know he didn’t fuck up, and that’s honestly fantastic.

* * *

“You’re way too happy lately,” Jack comments as he slides off of Rhys, and he rolls his eyes behind the blindfold before he removes them. “Somethin’ good happen to ya?”

He shrugs at that. “Nope.” He lies, and Jack just looks at him with something going on in there. “I’ve been getting less work, Jack, I’m just relieved to have time for myself _finally._ You would not believe the dumb shit they have me do.”

“Yeah?” Jack says, and there’s something curling up in his voice, hot and bitter Rhys wants to say, but he shakes his head and flicks Jack’s nose. Scowling at him, Jack smacks his hand away and backs away. “That all? You’re just _happy_ you have less work to do?”

He doesn’t say anything else to Jack, and the man is glaring at him like he wants Rhys to just _answer him._ He glares back, as best he can, because Jack doesn’t deserve to know _shit_ about his life and he isn’t going to give a casual fuck the privilege of it either.

Scowling far too much to be good for his face, Jack looks away and stares at the walls of his constricting room.

Despite _whatever_ that is happening between them, Jack doesn’t kick him out of his room, and Rhys leaves eventually so that he doesn’t fall asleep in his flat again.

* * *

There are talks of  _Eridium_ floating around in Hyperion. He doesn’t know what it is, to be frank, and whatever it is seems to be really interesting to the CEO.  _Jack,_ of all people, is the one who discovers Eridium and the one who is trying to pitch it to Tassiter, and Rhys doesn’t know why he’s surprised.

Jack seems to be doing _everything_ lately, and Rhys doesn’t want to think about how that makes his stomach churn in complete and utter discomfort. Jack’s everywhere and nowhere, and their visits together have been less and less common.

There are vault hunters that are going to be going to Helios later, so that Jack can talk to them about a vault [obviously], and people are signing up to be sent to the space _station_ when living arrangements are available.

Rhys signs himself up alongside Vaughn and Yvette, and he doesn’t think about it. He has the cybernetics program to worry about, his own projects and job, and Vasquez’s disgusting face too. How can one man be insufferable?

Well, Rhys pauses in his thinking for a bit, he has dealt with Jack for a good while now. Maybe those are the types of people he attracts? Not that Vaughn and Yvette are insufferable; everything but. Thinking of his friends, Rhys can’t help but smile while he’s staring at his monitor screen, at the report he needs to send in, and it makes working a little easier.

Later, he learns that Jack has moved to Helios, and he supposes that is the end of their visits.

* * *

His prosthetic gets replaced, and Rhys is told that he’s going to have to wait a good few years before he can get the port and ECHOeye. It’s not like he minds, really—his arm is kickass, and he can use it instead of the bulky ECHOcomms, so his life is easier already. It’ll be better once he gets his port and ECHOeye, he’s sure, and he grins.

But he isn’t given time to gloat and be victorious about his arm. He gets a notification on his ECHO that he has been accepted to go into Helios, and he’s going to be transferred in a few days. He can pack whatever he needs because he’s going via shuttle, and Rhys is surprised.

Vaughn and Yvette didn’t get accepted yet, and Rhys is of the few that did. He’s expected to work in the space station from now on, and he’s expected to live there as well. Though the picture of the flat he’s sent isn’t anything amazing, it’s at least decent enough to live in.

Honestly, he really doesn’t want to go, but Vaughn’s pushing at him to go and Yvette is looking at him in a way that tells him she’ll kill him if he tries to back out of this. Apparently, just one of them getting up there is more than enough for those two, and he wants to roll his eyes.

He kisses them both on the cheek, hugs them tightly, and lingers for a little before he goes to get all the necessities and more before he has to leave.

Jack’s on Helios, so he supposes that he’s going to be pestered by him again.

* * *

On Helios, everything feels different. For one, it’s surprisingly  _yellow_ despite Rhys remembering the colour of Hyperion being red and black (which is depressing, but iconic he supposes). Yellow is Jack’s colour, and even though Tassiter’s going to be the one in the big office he supposes that Helios is Jack’s as well.

He immerses himself in work once he’s there, because they give him more projects than when he was on Eden-7 itself, and Rhys works and works and _works_ until the days are starting to blend into the weeks and months that he’s here.

Helios is still being worked on, because there’s an entire part of the ‘H’ that needs to be built, and people aren’t around to go there in case they _die._

So, working is his best option. He wakes up, eats, works, eats, sleep, and repeats until Jack finds him again and adds their old visits to his new routine.

He likes the cybernetic arm, and wants to do _more_ with it, maybe install something in it to make the sex more fun, but Rhys threatens to crush his balls and Jack doesn’t mention that idea ever again. His arm is his arm, and it’s going to be a _useful_ tool instead of a _sex toy,_ thank you _very much._

Jack is even more insufferable on Helios; he’s full of pure confidence and energy, his self-confidence even bigger than before, and Rhys has to deal with his arrogant attitude almost every day.

The big CEO office is Jack’s, but only for a little bit before Tassiter is going to come once Helios is done being built and take back his office. He mentions that to Jack whenever he’s getting too mouthy, and something in Jack twitches.

It’s the anger and Rhys smiles, smug.

* * *

When Dahl invades, Rhys ends up hiding. He doesn’t know how long he’s been hiding, unseen and safe from Dahl, but people are  _dying_ left and right and Rhys can’t breathe. He has to keep changing his hiding spots whenever his needs become too much, whenever someone gets too close, and Rhys doesn’t know how he’s been able to survive for this long.

The vault hunters arrive, finally, and it’s Dahl’s turn to fall and die left and right, and Rhys presses his hands to his mouth to suppress his desire to puke. There’s _so much blood and viscera,_ and Rhys catches a glimpse of Nisha, the woman whom Jack is so smitten with, just shoving her gun in one man’s mouth and blowing it apart.

This is the woman that Jack likes and is going to stay with, going to _enjoy_ being with, and Rhys can’t wait for that day because then Jack is going to _leave him alone._ Then—then he can just work on getting the job position he wants, he deserves, on seeing Yvette and Vaughn once Helios is built, and he can shove this all into the back of his head.

All of this for a _vault_ or _whatever._ Civilians just dying because—because Dahl is greedy? Angry? Competitive? Rhys doesn’t _know,_ but he sure as hell doesn’t want to be wrapped in whatever mess Jack has dragged him down into.

He doesn’t want to associate with Jack anymore, and he’s lucky in that Jack seems so _stuck_ on Nisha that he doesn’t bother Rhys as much anymore. They are just casual sex buddies – not even _buddies_ really – and it’s going to be ending, and Rhys can enjoy Yvette and Vaughn and bury himself in them instead.

Instead of having to think about Jack and his need for _something_ and how he never wants to see Rhys or look into his eyes, how he prefers murderers and serial killers, and he thinks—

He thinks about a lot of things, and the vault hunters are out of the room that Rhys is hiding in.

* * *

There are still Dahl around, so Rhys has to flee to one of the offices that are  _guaranteed_ to be safe. He hears the vault hunters over the ECHOcomm, hears Jack talking to them, and hears his voice crack and the anger leak through. He doesn’t know what’s happening, but Rhys tries to work as best as he can under these awful conditions so that he doesn’t think about all the gore he witnessed.

If he works, then his mind is busy and focusing on something else entirely, and he’s safe. Sure, Dahl may still be around, but they’re not going to come to the office that Rhys is in and he can breathe easy in here.

Things are escalating—and Rhys doesn’t know if this is about a vault anymore. Something about this seems far too personal, judging by the graffiti and more on the walls.

_Kill thousands to save millions._

What does that even mean?

* * *

Helios is mostly free of Dahl at this point, thanks to the vault hunters, but Rhys still refuses to work in any area that isn’t marked as safe. Loader Bots – armed for combat instead of basic work – are there, at least, to kill any Dahl soldier who is still lurking around.

It’s safer now, at least, but Rhys’s stomach lurches and tightens. He keeps seeing corpses, keeps seeing bodies that have yet to be disposed of, and he has to be careful so that he doesn’t step in any blood or gore.

Helios is being cleaned up by the sociopathic cleaner bots, at least, and Rhys supposes that is one blessing. He breathes in and out, trying to soothe his nerves, and his eyes ache with the restless sleep he’s been having.

The first thing he’s doing when this invasion is done is sleep.

* * *

Jack comes back from Elpis and Tassiter arrives, but Rhys doesn’t get to see or hear about them until way, way too late. He’s walking in the halls of the newly cleaned up Helios, trying to get to work now that all the Dahl soldiers are all driven out [read: murdered], when he hears the announcement.

“ _Hello kiddos!”_ Jack’s loud, excited voice rings out, _“how are ya? I’m doin’ great! What about you Tassiter, huh? You doin’ okay there buddy?”_ when there’s no answer, unsettling laughter escapes Jack’s lips. _“Of course you’re great, Tassiter old pal! You’re **dead!”**_

Rhys’s heart leaps to his throat. _“Now, listen up eeeeeveryyyyboooodyyyy! Tassiter’s dead, killed by **me,** and given that **I’m the only qualified one here,** I’m going to be your new CEO! Oh, and if you’re going to address me, remember that it’s **Handsome Jack** now! Anyone try and do anything about this, and I’ll kill ya.”_

He speaks freely, as though he _didn’t_ just threaten to kill anyone who resisted him, and Rhys is staring at nothing in pure and utter shock.

Tassiter’s _dead._ Jack _killed him. **Jack is CEO now.**_

Oh god.

He tries to swallow the lump in his throat down, tries to swallow his heart back into its place, but nothing is working. His fingers shake and he inhales deeply and exhales hard.

Jack is CEO now.

 _Handsome_ Jack is CEO now, and he’s willingly to kill.

 

What happened?

* * *

To his misfortune, Jack comes after him. There’s a mask on his face- that’s the first thing Rhys notices before he’s grabbed by Jack and slammed against the wall. Fingers wrap around his throat, cutting off his air, and Rhys is clawing at those hands as he’s pushed up the wall.

“Ohhho pumpkin,” Jack hisses out, and Rhys notices – inappropriately timed – that Jack’s attire is different too. His eyes are focusing down on Jack’s clothes, and his head _aches_ when Jack slams him against the wall again. “ _Look at me.”_

He struggles to raise his eyes up to look at Jack’s. “That’s it, _good boy._ You—you look so damn _good_ like this Rhysie. _Always_ wanted to do this, god damn.” His vision is going black, and Rhys goes limp. Noticing this, the fingers on his throat relaxes and Rhys is gasping loudly as he takes in deep breaths of air. “Can’t say no to me anymore, can ya?”

Rhys can’t speak, eyes wide in horror, and Jack is laughing. “Look at _you!_ Got nothing to say for yerself, do ya? Where’s that, ohhh don’t mark me attitude now, huh?” He leans in close, the grin on his face wide and predatory, and their breaths mingle. “Always wanted to do _so much to you,_ kitten—but you _never_ wanted anything from me.”

He’s far too scared to close his eyes. “I’d say that—now that I _am_ the head of Hyperion, you belong to me now, huh? Can’t say _no_ to a single damn thing I want, and what I want… is for _you_ in my office, like the prettiest damn trophy.

“Because _I am the hero!_ I **_deserve this!_** _After everything I’ve done—all the shit I’ve put up with— **I deserve a trophy.**_ I got myself a kickass girlfriend, and now I’m getting myself a nice little trophy.”

Masked lips press against Rhys’s flesh ones in a rough kiss, and the texture is _off_ and wrong and—and weird. It’s _weird,_ and Jack is—a hero now? He doesn’t _know._

But his limbs won’t co-operate with him, won’t let him push Jack away, and he yelps as his lips are bit so hard they bleed. Jack backs away from Rhys, mouth red with his blood, and he’s grinning like a shark.

“You’re **_mine_** now, pumpkin, just like I always wanted you to be.”


End file.
